Membership in the Stonewall Brigade Band is open to any individual who is able to read music and play an instrument.
- There’s no audition required.
- All members are volunteers; there are no dues or fees.
- Members are expected to provide their own instruments. We have a limited inventory of larger instruments. The SBB has percussion equipment including sticks/mallets.
- The SBB provides music stands for rehearsals and performances. For some venues, members may be asked to bring their own stands.
- Rehearsals are held every Monday evening 7:30pm to 9:00pm except during the summer (this is concert season) and the month of September. Concerts run June, July and August starting at 7:30pm.
The band actively seeks adult members who were successful in their high school or college bands and youth members who are proficient players and sight-readers. The band always welcomes members in all sections, but at present we are in particular need of experienced percussionists.
The SBB plays music from a variety of genres and difficulty levels. Much of the music in our library was purchased at the recommendation of SBB members or given to us by generous donors. The Director welcomes suggestions from members about music to include in our performance schedule.
While we encourage perfect attendance, we would expect that a new member would attend at least two-thirds of the rehearsals in the fall rehearsal season and three-fourths of the rehearsals in the spring rehearsal season. Individuals become “associate members” upon participating in a rehearsal or concert, and become full members for life when voted upon by the membership after six months active participation by attending at least half the rehearsals during that time. Active full members have the privilege of voting in band business meetings.
Full members who do not attend at least one rehearsal during each three month period are placed on the inactive list until participation resumes with attendance at half or more of the rehearsals during a three month period. Placement within sections of the band is determined cooperatively by members of each section, under the direction of a section leader.
Prospective members can contact the band, any current band member or a board member for more information about joining. You can expect to be invited to attend a rehearsal and “give it a try for a few weeks” to see if you enjoy the band enough to make it part of your weekly routine. Most new members discover how much fun it is to play different music each week in a band filled with volunteer members who truly love making music.
Has it been a while since you played your instrument? We have refresher booklets for all instruments that you can download. They start at “the beginning” and take you through most of the range of your instrument and most of the keys used in band music, with familiar tunes that make it easy to tell when you’re right. This is the link to refresher books.